A unique blog dedicated to covering the worlds of book publishing and the news media, revealing creative ideas, practical strategies, interesting stories, and provocative opinions. Along the way, discover savvy but entertaining insights on book marketing, public relations, branding, and advertising from a veteran of two decades in the industry of book publishing publicity and marketing.

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Monday, July 20, 2015

Should Writers Be Licensed?

You don’t need a license, a college
degree, or even any substantial training to hold many jobs. Data entry, secretary, hotel clerk, and pizza
maker come to mind. So do waitress, shoe salesman, shipping grunt, and bathroom
attendant. Anyone, if they so choose and exhibit the raw ability to do so, can
be any of these things. But imagine a
job – no, a profession – being so rare that only 541 people have held such a
position. That’s how many astronauts
have flown in space – globally – ever.

Being a writer or a published author is
the opposite of such rarity. Thousands of authors mint new books every single day. There are millions of people who
earn a living by writing words in a sequence that make people feel, think, and
understand life in a way that engenders a
fulfilling, productive, and enjoyable existence. But, like the stock boy and guy who delivers
newspapers, being a writer requires nothing of the writer.

No license.

No degree.

No training.

But writers take on a big responsibility
– they influence others and shape society.
They feed us information, inspire, motivate, record history and give us
a vision to shoot for or steer clear of.
The writers out there become initiators of the world we could live in,
as they share a fiction that could become a reality.

I don’t advocate for any type of
government requirement or restriction to be set for writers. There are laws on the book regarding libel,
defamation, and copyright that theoretically protect us from lies, intentional
false claims, and intellectual property theft.
But the truth is, these so-called protections have many flaws. Further, they only deal with things after the
fact. We need some voluntary standards
for writers to adhere to so that we avoid misinformation, propaganda, and
faulty research from infecting society.

Now, think about it. So much is written each day, via traditional
media, social media, books, newsletters, trade journals, and pamphlets that it’s impossible to enforces
laws, fact-check and correct the writings of others, and to second-guess if
drawn conclusions have validity. At any
point in time of the nation’s discourse on anything – even a dialogue between two friends – there’s a certain percentage of inaccuracy, confusion,
misinterpretation, misunderstanding, and a miscommunication of basic
facts. What can be done to minimize or
eliminate such situations?

I don’t think one needs a degree or a
certification course to validate their skill and knowledge, nor do I believe
everything learned under these programs will make one a better writer. Learning and getting an education should make
one a better person, not just technically qualified to hold down a certain job.

However, training is a great idea. Writers need help – and the public should
demand that writers seek out expert training.
There are all kinds of things writers could be taught about their craft,
from how to write, edit, and research to ethics and values.

There is no shortage of writing
workshops, conferences, and seminars, though many of them don’t collaborate to
make sure that in the totality of offerings a writer will come to learn
collectively what is needed to be not only great at what he or she does, but
responsible, accurate, and informed.

Writing is a right, protected by the
First Amendment. We can’t install
requirements that infringe on such a right. But writers must police themselves
and be aware that they may benefit from more trainings and mentoring. Writers have a great responsibility – to
influence public opinion and educate the masses. They must use that power in a way that truly
serves the needs of the people.

About Me

Brian Feinblum, the creator and author of BookMarketingBuzzBlog, is the chief marketing officer for the nation's largest book promotions firm, Media Connect (www.Media-Connect.com), formerly Planned Television Arts, and has been involved in book publicity and marketing since 1989. He has served several book publishing companies as a publicist, book editor, and acquisitions editor. Brian, who earned a BA in English from Brooklyn College, became a published author in 1995 when he penned The Florida Homeowner, Condo and Co-Op Handbook. He resides in Westchester, New York with his wife, two young children, and an English Bulldog.